景德傳燈錄 1.46

1.46

The first patriarch, Mahākāśyapa, was a native of Magadha. His caste was Brahmin. His father was Nyagrodha-prasādha, and his mother was Candrabālā. Formerly, he had been a goldsmith, well understanding the nature of gold and how to make it malleable. The Fu fazang zhuan states: Long kalpas ago, after Vipaśyin Buddha entered nirvāṇa, the fourfold assembly erected a stūpa. In the stūpa, the golden surface of the statue's face was slightly damaged. At that time, a poor woman brought gold and a jewel to the goldsmith, asking him to adorn the Buddha's face. Thereupon they jointly made a vow: 'May the two of us become husband and wife without worldly marriage.' Due to this cause and condition, their bodies were golden in color for ninety-one kalpas. Later he was born in the Brahma Heaven. When his celestial lifespan ended, he was born into a Brahmin household in Magadha in central India, and named Kāśyapa, which means 'Radiance-Drinking Honoured One,' named so because of his golden color. Thereupon he aspired to leave home, hoping to deliver all sentient beings. The Buddha said: 'Welcome, bhikṣu!' His hair and beard fell away naturally, and the kāṣāya clung to his body. Among the assembly, he was always praised as foremost. [The Buddha] further said: 'I now entrust to you the pure Dharma eye; you must disseminate it so that it is never cut off.' The Nirvāṇa-sūtra states: At that time, when the World-Honoured One was about to enter nirvāṇa, Kāśyapa was not present in the assembly. The Buddha told his great disciples: 'When Kāśyapa arrives, you should have him proclaim the treasury of the correct Dharma eye.' At that time, Kāśyapa was in the Pippala Cave on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. Seeing a wondrous light, he entered samādhi. With the pure divine eye, he saw the World-Honoured One enter parinirvāṇa beside the river Hiraṇyavatī. He then said to his followers: 'The Tathāgata has entered nirvāṇa! How swift it was!' He immediately went to the twin trees, weeping in grief and longing. The Buddha revealed his two feet from within the golden coffin. At that time, Kāśyapa told the bhikṣus: 'The Buddha has been cremated. The adamantine relics are not our affair; we should compile the Dharma eye so that it will not be cut off.' And he spoke this verse: